Disposable urine collector

ABSTRACT

A disposable urine management device including a bag having an aperture which is surrounded by an adhesively-faced flange for releasable attachment to the uro-genital area of the wearer. An absorbent material is contained within the bag.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to disposable urine management devices,and more particularly, to disposable urine management devices withimproved fit and conformability.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Disposable urine management devices in the form of urineincontinence protection devices or in the form of urine collectiondevices for medical purposes are known in the art.

[0003] Representative devices of the former type are disclosed in EP 0140 470 and WO 85/0328, both of which disclose disposable devices whichinclude a water-impervious barrier sheet formed as a bag, an opening tobe located next to the wearer's uro-genital area to receive thedischarged urine, and containing an absorbent material to absorb thedischarged urine. EP 0 140 470 additionally discloses the presence of awicking layer between the opening and the absorbent material. Neither ofthese references disclose the use of an adhesive member or flangesurrounding the aperture for securing the bag to the body of the wearer.

[0004] Representative of the urine collector art is U.S. Pat. No.4,804,377 which discloses a urine collector device for infants or smallchildren having a flexible collection bag and an adhesively-facedattachment member joined to the bag. The urine collectors in general bydefinition do not contain any absorbent material as they are designed tocollect urine; they must be of sufficient dimension to contain a fulldischarge, and are therefore, bulky. Furthermore, they are not designedto be worn for any length of time next to the body, or to be worn insidean undergarment or diaper.

[0005] It is now been found that a superior disposable urine managementdevice can be designed, which ensures perfect fit and conformability tothe wearer, and is designed to be worn in lieu of a diaper by a baby,small child or incontinent adult.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The invention is a disposable urine management device. Thedisposable urine management device comprises a bag having an aperturewhich is surrounded by an adhesively-faced flange for releasableattachment to the uro-genital area of the wearer. An absorbent materialis contained within said bag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] While the Specification concludes with claims pointing out anddistinctly claiming the present invention, it is believed the same willbe better understood by the following drawings taken in conjunction withthe accompanying Specification wherein like components are given thesame reference number.

[0008]FIG. 1 is a plan view of a disposable urine management device ofthe present invention.

[0009]FIG. 2 is a side view of the disposable urine management device ofFIG. 1.

[0010]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

[0011]FIG. 4 is a plan view of another embodiment of a disposable urinemanagement device of the present invention.

[0012]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

[0013]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of adisposable urine management device of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The term “disposable” as used herein describes devices whichgenerally are not intended to be laundered or otherwise restored orreused (i.e., they are intended to be discarded after a single use and,preferably, to be recycled, composted or otherwise disposed of in anenvironmentally compatible manner.)

[0015] Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, there is shown a disposable urinemanagement device (10). Disposable urine management device (10)comprises a bag (11) having an aperture (13) and a flange (12)surrounding the aperture for adhesive attachment to the body of awearer.

[0016] The bag (11) as used herein is a flexible receptacle for thecontainment of discharged urine. The bag (11) can be provided in anyshape or size depending on the intended use thereof, i.e. whether thedevice is intended for bedridden patients or active patients sufferingfrom incontinence. For example elongated bags which are principallytubular or rectangular are typically utilized by bedridden patients andelderly incontinence sufferers. For more active wearers whether infantsor adults, the urine management device should preferably be anatomicallyshaped such that the device follows the contours of the body and can beworn inconspicuously by the wearer under normal garments.

[0017] Particularly, preferred shapes are cone shaped bags, truncatedshaped bags and pyramidal or truncated pyramidal or cone shaped bags. Ina most preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bag (11) has asubstantially truncated cone shape.

[0018] In addition, the bag (11) is preferably shaped to fit theuro-genital region of the wearer to ensure good contact between theflange (12) and the skin of the wearer.

[0019] The bag (11) is preferably designed to provide sufficient volumefor urine under a variety of wearing conditions, also when worn by afreely moving, i.e., not bedridden wearer.

[0020] The bag (11) is designed to safely contain any entrappedmaterial, typically it will be liquid impermeable, yet it may bebreathable. The bag is designed of sufficient strength to resistrupturing in use.

[0021] According to the present invention, depending on the shape of thebag (11) required, the bag may be made from a unitary piece of materialor from a number of separate pieces of material, which may be identicalor different and which are sealed at their respective peripheries.

[0022] According to the present invention the bag can comprise one ormultiple layers, preferably two or three layers. The layer on the insideof the bag, which will typically at least partially come in contact withurine is called the inner layer. The outermost layer of the bag, whichwill typically at least partially come in contact with the skin of thewearer and the garments of the wearer, is called the outer layer.

[0023] The layers of the bag material may be provided from any material,so that the bag is liquid impervious. The layers may in particularcomprise any material such as non-wovens or films. In a preferredembodiment of the present invention a laminate may be formed from anon-woven layer and a film. The laminate can be formed by means known tothe man skilled in the art.

[0024] Any non-woven layer can comprise felt fabrics, spunlaced fabrics,fluid jet entangled fabrics, air-laid fabrics, wet-laid fabrics,dry-laid fabrics, melt-blown fabrics, staple fiber carding fabrics,spunbonded fabrics, stitch-bonded fabrics, apertured fabrics,combinations of the above or the like.

[0025] Suitable film materials for any of said layers preferablycomprise a thermoplastic material. The thermoplastic material can beselected from among all types of hot-melt adhesives, polyolefinsespecially polyethylene, polypropylene, amorphous polyolefins, and thelike; material containing meltable components comprising fibers orpolymeric binders including natural fibers such as cellulose—wood pulp,cotton, jute, hemp; synthetic fibers such as fiberglass, rayon,polyester, polyolefin, acrylic, polyamid, aramid, polytetrafluroethylenemetal, polyimide; binders such as bicomponent high melt/low meltpolymer, copolymer polyester, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylacetate/chloride copolymer, copolymer polyamide, materials comprisingblends wherein some of the constituent materials are not meltable; airand vapour permeable materials including microporous films such as thosesupplied by EXXON Chemical Co., III, US under the designation EXXAIRE orthose supplied by Mitsui Toatsu Co., Japan under the designation ESPOIRNO; and monolithic breathable materials such as Hytrel™ available fromDuPont and Pebax™ available from ELF Atochem, France.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment a film, which is comprised in anylayer, is preferably permeable to gases such as air and to vapour suchas water vapour in order to avoid the problem of entrapment andcondensation of moisture vapour given off by the body of the wearer andthus, the hot, clammy and uncomfortable conditions after a short periodof use.

[0027] The outer layer of the bag is preferably provided with anon-woven layer. Such material layers present an uneven surface to theskin of the wearer and thus reduce significantly the problem ofocclusion and greatly improve skin healthiness.

[0028] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention the bagcomprises two layers. Preferably the outer layer comprises a non-wovenlayer and the inner layer comprises a film.

[0029] In yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, thebag (11) comprises three layers, preferably one film layer and twonon-woven layers. In an even more preferred embodiment the film isinterposed between the two non-woven layers. This sequence of layersresults in a closed fibrous structure, which has a particularly pleasingsensation on contact with the skin of the wearer.

[0030] The non-woven layer or the non-woven layers comprised by the bag(11) may be hydrophobic or hydrophilic. For example, if the bagcomprises a film layer, further nonwoven layers may be hydrophilic orhydrophobic. If the bag does not comprise a film layer, preferably atleast one non-woven layer is hydrophobic. It may even be desirable tomake both non-woven layers hydrophobic to ensure that the bag is liquidimpervious.

[0031] Typically, the non-woven layer is treated with a surface activematerial, such as a fluorchemical or other hydrophobic finishings, toprovide the requisite hydrophobicity. The non-woven layer, however, mayequally be treated with coatings of liquid impervious materials such ashot-melt adhesives or coatings of silicone or other hydrophobiccompounds such as rubbers and vegetable and mineral waxes or it may bephysically treated using nano-particulates or plasma coating techniques,for example.

[0032] The non-woven layer can also be treated with agents to improvethe tactile perceivable softness. The agents include but are not limitedto vegetable, animal or synthetic oils, silicone oils and the like. Thepresence of these agents are known to impart a silky or flannel-likefeel to the non-woven layer without rendering it greasy or oily to thetactile sense of the wearer. Additionally, surfactant material,including anionic, non-anionic, cationic and non-cationic surfactants,may be added to further enhance softness and surface smoothness.

[0033] Furthermore, the non-woven layer may be impregnated with a lotionto provide desirable therapeutic or protective coating lotion benefits.The lotion coating is transferable to the skin of the wearer by normalcontact and wearer motion and/or body heat. Generally, mineral oil inthe form of a lotion is recognized as being effective in imparting asoothing, protective coating to the skin of the wearer. It is alsopossible to impregnate the non-woven layer with a solid oil phase ofcream formulation or to incorporate into the non-woven layer an array ofpressure- or thermal- or hydrorupturable capsules containing forexample, baby oil.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 1 the bag (11) is provided with an aperture (13)whereby urine is received from the body prior to storage within the bagcavity. The aperture (13) is surrounded by a flange (12) and may beprovided in any shape or size, such as circular, oblong, heart shapedand may be symmetrical or asymmetrical, preferably the aperture has anoblong configuration either in the longitudinal or in the transversaldirection, most preferably the contours of the aperture are in the shapeof two ellipses with the respective main axes being substantiallyperpendicular.

[0035] The flange (12) is attached to the bag (11) according to meansknown to the man skilled in the art, preferably adhesives.

[0036] The flange may be provided in any size depending on the wearergroup for which the device is intended. Similarly the flange may beprovided in any shape and preferably has a symmetrical, slightly oblongshape, preferably comprising a plurality of lobes.

[0037] The flange comprises a wearer facing surface (22) and an opposedgarment facing surface (21). In a preferred embodiment these are twolarge, substantially flat surfaces.

[0038] The flange (12) should be made of soft, flexible and malleablematerial to allow easy placement of the flange to the uro-genital area.In addition, it is preferred that the flange (12) be made of ahydrophobic material such that if urine does come into contact with theperimeter (30) surrounding aperture (13) it is repelled and does notwick to the outer edge (32) of flange (12). It is also desirable toconstruct the flange (12) from a breathable material to avoid theproblem of entrapment and condensation of moisture vapour given off bythe body of the wearer and thus, the hot, clammy and uncomfortableconditions after a short period of use.

[0039] Suitable materials for the flange (12) include but are notlimited to nonwoven materials, and foams, such as open celledthermoplastic foams. An open-cell foam having a thickness within thegeneral range of about 0.5 to 10 millimeters (preferably about 2millimeters) has been found particularly effective. Other foam materialsor other suitable plastics sheet materials having the describedproperties of such foams (i.e., softness, pliability, stretchability,contractability, breathability, and hydrophobicity) might be used.

[0040] According to the present invention the wearer facing surface (22)of the flange (12) comprises a body-compatible adhesive (20). Theadhesive (20) is preferably covered with a release means (not shown) inorder to protect the adhesive layer prior to use, such as siliconizedpaper. The adhesive (20) can cover the entire wearer facing surface ofthe flange or more preferably have at least one, preferably two to sixnon-adhesive portions. These portions may be adhesive free or maycontain inactivated or covered adhesives.

[0041] As is evident from FIG. 1, the adhesive (20) is in one preferredembodiment not applied to the entire wearer facing surface area of theflange (12), so as to provide lobes (16) on either side of the flange(12) which are non-adhesive and can thereby serve as placement lobes tofacilitate placement and removal of the device whilst avoiding contactwith the adhesive. These lobes are however preferably also covered bythe release paper. Before application of the urine management device(10) to the skin of the wearer, the release means if present is removed.

[0042] According to the present invention any medically approved waterresistant pressure sensitive adhesive may be used to attach the deviceto the uro-genital area of the wearer, such as hydrocolloid adhesivesand hydrogel adhesives. Particularly effective adhesives in providingthe desired adhesive properties to secure the flange to the skin of thewearer at the sensitive uro-genital area, whilst allowing for relativelypainless application and removal are hydrophillic hydrogels formed fromcrosslinking polymers with a plastisicer to form a 3-dimensional matrix.

[0043] The adhesive (20) can be applied to the wearer facing surface(22) of the flange (12) by any means known in the art such as slotcoating, spiral, or bead application or printing. Typically the adhesiveis applied at a basis weight of from 20 g/m² to 2500 g/m², morepreferably from 500 g m² to 2000 g/m² most preferably from 700 g/m² to1500 g/m² depending on the end use envisioned. For example for urinemanagement devices to be used for children the amount of adhesive may beless than for urine management devices designed for active adultincontinence sufferers.

[0044] Absorbent material (15) is contained within the bag (11). Theabsorbent material (15) may comprise any absorbent material which iscapable of absorbing and retaining liquids such as urine. The absorbentmaterial may comprise a wide variety of liquid-absorbent materialscommonly used in disposable diapers and other absorbent articles such ascomminuted wood pulp, which is generally referred to as airfelt.Examples of other suitable absorbent materials include creped cellulosewadding; meltblown polymers, including coform; chemically stiffened,modified or cross-linked cellulosic fibers; tissue, including tissuewraps and tissue laminates; absorbent foams; absorbent sponges;superabsorbent polymers; absorbent gelling materials; or any other knownabsorbent material or combinations of materials.

[0045] The absorbent material (15) may be positioned in the bag (11) inany suitable manner. For example, the absorbent material (15) may beloosely arranged within the bag (15) or may be secured to the innerlayer of the bag (11). Any known techniques for securing absorbentmaterial to nonwoven and film substrates may be used to secure theabsorbent material (15) to the inner layer of the bag. The absorbentmaterial may also be arranged to have any desired shape or configuration(e.g., rectangular, oval, circular, etc.).

[0046] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, the outer surface of bag(11) is provided with patches of adhesive (40) for securing the bag (11)to the body of the wearer. Preferably, the patches of adhesive (40) arepositioned on the outer surface of bag (11) such that they are securedto the abdomen of the wearer in use. Any number, size and shape ofadhesive patches (40) may be used depending on the intended use of thedevice. The adhesive (40) may be any medically approved water resistantpressure sensitive adhesive such as hydrocolloid adhesives and hydrogeladhesives. Particularly effective adhesives in providing the desiredadhesive properties to secure the flange to the skin of the wearerwhilst allowing for relatively painless application and removal arehydrophillic hydrogels formed from crosslinking polymers with aplastisicer to form a 3-dimensional matrix.

[0047] Referring now to FIGS. 4-5, there is shown another embodiment ofa disposable urine management device (110). Disposable urine managementdevice (110) comprises a bag (111) having an aperture (113), a flange(112) surrounding the aperture for adhesive attachment to the body of awearer, and absorbent material (115) contained within the bag (111).

[0048] The flange (112) includes a raised, curved bulge (150) positionedbeneath the aperture (113) and extending across the flange (112) forapproximately the width of the aperture (113). The bulge (150) is shapedto span the perineum of an infant.

[0049] Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown another embodiment of adisposable urine management device (210). Disposable urine managementdevice (210) comprises a bag (211) having an aperture (213), a flange(212) surrounding the aperture for adhesive attachment to the body of awearer, and absorbent material (215) contained within the bag (211).

[0050] Disposable urine management device (210) also comprises anadditional acquisition layer (270). Acquisition layer (270) is shown inFIG. 6 to be secured to the inner surface of bag (211). However, theacquisition layer (270) may also be secured to the flange (212), or boththe flange (212) and the inner surface of bag (211). Acquisition layer(270) is preferably positioned such that it separates the genitalia ofthe wearer from coming into direct contact with the absorbent material(215). Acquisition layer (270) is fluid pervious allowing urine toreadily pass through so that it may be absorbed by absorbent material(215).

[0051] The acquisition layer (270) may be manufactured from a wide rangeof materials, such as porous foams; reticulated foams; apertured plasticfilms; or woven or nonwoven webs of natural fibers (e.g., wood or cottonfibers), synthetic fibers (e.g., polyester or polypropylene fibers), ora combination of natural and synthetic fibers. If the acquisition,barrier layer includes fibers, the fibers may be spunbond, carded,wet-laid, meltblown, hydroentangled, or otherwise processed as is knownin the art.

[0052] The acquisition layer (270) is designed to have a pore size suchthat the absorbent material (215) is not allowed to pass through andcontact the wearer's skin. While designed not to have to large of a poresize which permits the passage of absorbent material (215), theacquisition layer (270) preferably has a pore size which is greater thanthe pore size of the absorbent material (215).

[0053] Preferably, the acquisition layer (270) is less hydrophilic thanthe absorbent material (215). The acquisition layer (270) may be treatedwith a surfactant to increase its initial wettability. When treated withsurfactant, however, the acquisition layer (270) should still be lesshydrophilic than the absorbent material (215). Suitable methods fortreating the acquisition layer (270) with a surfactant include sprayingthe acquisition layer (270) with the surfactant and immersing thematerial into the surfactant. Alternatively, a surfactant may beincorporated into the acquisition layer (270).

[0054] While particular embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in theart that various other changes and modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is thereforeintended to cover in the appended claims all such changes andmodifications that are within the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A disposable urine management device (10)comprising a bag (11), said bag having an aperture (13), said aperturebeing surrounded by an adhesively-faced flange (12) for releasableattachment to the uro-genital area of the wearer, characterized in thatan absorbent material (15) is contained within said bag.
 2. Thedisposable urine management device of claim 1 wherein said bag is liquidimpermeable.
 3. The disposable urine management device of either claim 1or claim 2 wherein said bag is breathable.
 4. The disposable urinemanagement device of any one of the preceding claims wherein said bagcomprises at least one layer.
 5. The disposable urine management deviceof claim 4 wherein said bag comprises at least an inside layer and anoutside layer.
 6. The disposable urine management device of claim 5wherein said outside layer comprises a non-woven layer.
 7. Thedisposable urine management device of claim 6 wherein said non-wovenlayer is impregnated with a lotion.
 8. The disposable urine managementdevice of claim 6 wherein said non-woven layer is hydrophobic.
 9. Thedisposable urine management device of any one of the preceding claimswherein said absorbent material is selected from the group consisting ofcomminuted wood pulp; creped cellulose wadding; meltblown polymers;chemically stiffened, modified or cross-linked cellulosic fibers;tissue; absorbent foams; absorbent sponges; superabsorbent polymers; andabsorbent gelling materials.
 10. The disposable urine management deviceof any one of the preceding claims wherein said bag further comprises atleast one adhesive patch (40).
 11. The disposable urine managementdevice of any one of the preceding claims wherein said flange furthercomprises a raised, curved bulge (150).
 12. The disposable urinemanagement device of any one of the preceding claims wherein said bagfurther comprises an acquisitionr layer (270).